420: Chapter 420 The Three Little Ones

A vast expanse of ruins.

Broken stone pillars jutted out at angles from the ground, and the fractured altar was overgrown with dark-red vines. Shattered scales and massive skeletons were scattered among the rubble. What was once a grand architectural complex was now nothing but a desolate silence.

A girl of about twelve years old stood on the edge of the ruins, suspended in mid-air, her wide skirt hanging down to cover her bare feet.

She wore a clean, moon-white long dress.

The dress was clearly an adult's style; the cuffs and collar were several sizes too large.

Since waking up, she had discovered that her clothes had rotted away. She had exchanged this dress with the Young Miss of a wealthy family after curing her of a malignant illness on her way to the Ten Thousand Miasma Demon Forest. Other than that girl, no one knew she had been there.

Her jet-black hair hung loose, with a few strands sticking to her cheeks.

The girl gazed at the half-collapsed altar in the center of the ruins, her small face scrunched up and her lips tightly pursed.

"How did it turn into this..."

Before her voice could fade, a flash of green light suddenly lit up the horizon.

She looked up—

In the distance, a massive shadow of a cauldron soared into the sky, majestic as a mountain. Layered patterns of mountains and rivers were engraved on its body, dyeing half the sky a greenish-gray.

—

The center of the Ten Thousand Miasma Demon Forest.

The rock cauldron hung in the air.

Its surface was mottled, yet it possessed a natural majesty that could suppress the ages. Beneath the cauldron, a massive black hole gaped like the maw of an abyss. A dull roar faintly echoed from underground, sounding like something was struggling.

At this moment, hundreds of figures were slowly ascending into the sky.

Golden-Scaled Black Pythons, Netherworld Saber-Toothed Tigers, and Soul-Devouring Demon Flowers—they were covered in wounds. Some had scales peeling off, some had charred fur, and others had broken vines, yet all of them stood with their backs straight. The weakest among them were at the Body Integration Stage, and there were dozens of Tribulation Transcendence Stage pressures among them, as imposing as mountains.

These were the last members of the three great races.

Their gazes were resolute as they simultaneously looked toward the three Yao Ancestors and bowed deeply.

"Old Ancestor, take care."

"Take care."

"For the eternal survival of the Golden-Scaled Black Python Clan!"

"For the eternal survival of the Nether Tiger Clan!"

"For the eternal survival of the Soul-Devouring Demon Flower Clan!"

Hundreds of figures simultaneously transformed into streaks of light and threw themselves into the rock cauldron!

As the light merged into the cauldron, it suddenly shuddered, and the green light flared, illuminating half the sky. The mountain and river patterns on the cauldron seemed to come alive; peaks rose in layers, and rivers surged. A majestic power of suppression poured down, firmly forcing back the restless roaring from the black hole.

Three illusory figures stood in the distance, watching this scene with a mix of sorrow and resentment.

The one standing at the very front had purple hair cascading like a waterfall, cold vertical pupils, and a face as frigid as frost. She was the Yao Ancestor of the Golden-Scaled Black Python Clan. She stared intently at the rock cauldron, her fingertips trembling slightly.

Standing beside her was the Yao Ancestor of the Netherworld Saber-Toothed Tigers. Her silver hair was loose, and a pair of fluffy tiger ears stood amidst her hair. Her eyes were filled with suppressed fury. Dark patterns flowed across her body, her fangs were slightly bared, and the rocks beneath her claws had been silently crushed to dust.

The woman half a step behind them had a bewitching face, with vines winding out from her skirt and hanging down limply. It was the Flower Ancestor, Fei Yan.

"Xuan Ji!"

Yin Lan gritted her teeth, her silver hair flying due to the fluctuations of spiritual power.

"Those humans have lived in comfort for too long; they've long forgotten the terror of this Main Root! For the sake of the rock cauldron, they've abandoned all honor! First, those who called themselves the Niding Alliance, and then that scum who destroyed the altar a hundred years ago. If not for them, how could my Yao Race have come to this!"

Fei Yan raised her tear-filled eyes and said with a trembling voice, "We should never have made that covenant in the first place! They made us suppress the Main Root while the Human Race only had to deal with the True Demon Realm... and yet, they turned around and stabbed us in the back!"

Xuan Ji spoke, her voice as cold as ice.

"The Hunyuan World-Suppressing Grand Array, which our two races joined forces to set up, covers half the Demon Forest and suppresses space. It was originally meant to reduce the formation of secondary rifts from the True Demon Realm. Who would have thought it would be secretly exploited? When the Main Root broke through the Seal hundreds of years ago, the array backfired, trapping and killing countless clansmen... as well as other Yao clans in the Ten Thousand Miasma Demon Forest."

Yin Lan let out a low roar that shook the surrounding area.

Fei Yan looked toward the rock cauldron; those hundreds of lights had completely merged into it, leaving no trace. She closed her eyes and murmured:

"The three children we sent out... are the last seeds. I only hope they can survive as proof that we once existed."

"They will." Xuan Ji looked into the distance with a profound gaze.

"They will live on."

The sun reached its zenith.

Deep within the Demon Forest, a massive figure was racing through the dense woods.

It was a giant jet-black tiger, several zhang long, with dark patterns flowing over its fur like water.

Her name was Mo Shuang, the last Tribulation Transcendence Stage tiger demon of the Nether Tiger Clan. At this moment, she was in her beast form, with three small figures huddled on her back.

The three little girls clung tightly to Mo Shuang's mane, their faces pale.

One had purple hair and vertical pupils, her cold and elegant little face covered in tear stains as she bit her lip hard; one had silver hair and tiger ears, her eyes looking fiercely cute despite being red-rimmed, her small tiger fangs grinding together; one had pink hair adorned with a flower, her gentle and quiet face now filled only with terror as she tightly hugged her two companions.

Behind them, dozens of dark shadows were in hot pursuit.

They were former clansmen corrupted by erosion qi. Erosion Pythons with peeling scales, Eroded Tigers with rotting fur, and Eroded Flowers with twisted vines.

Their eyes held only a bloodthirsty red light as they hissed and lunged, completely failing to recognize the kin they once shared Bloodlines with. At the very front, several figures emitted the terrifying pressure of the Tribulation Transcendence Stage.

"Aunt Mo Shuang, they're catching up!"

The little girl with silver hair and tiger ears looked back, her small face turning pale.

Mo Shuang didn't answer; she just ran with all her might. There were already multiple wounds on her body, and blood dripped down her fur, but she didn't dare stop for a single step.

The three little girls looked at those familiar yet strange faces behind them, their hearts aching as if pierced by knives. Those clansmen who had once taught them how to hunt and told them stories were now trying to kill them.

The pink-haired little girl closed her eyes, tears silently sliding down.

Several figures suddenly appeared in the forest ahead.

Mo Shuang skidded to a halt, her front claws plowing deep furrows into the ground. She alertly pricked up her ears and let out a low, warning growl.

The three little girls also saw the scene ahead.

A man in green robes stood with his hands behind his back, accompanied by a gentle woman in a moon-white cloak and a cold-looking woman in light green.

Ling Hao's eyes lit up.

Seeing the man's eyes light up, the hearts of the three little girls sank.

Is this one of those cunning and vicious humans?!

Despair surged in like a tide.